NEW YORK, NY - At a glittering event held at the Indian Consulate and attended by top dignitaries including the Indian Minister of Power & Coal, Touchdown Media Inc., the leading multicultural advertising firm, announced the launch of the eighth season of the MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee. MetLife, a leading global provider of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management, returns as the title sponsor of the contest.

The event is open to children of South Asian descent up to 14 years of age. It will give South Asian children a chance to test their spelling skills in their core peer group. Organized by Touchdown Media Inc., the 2015 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee will be conducted in 12 locations across the United States starting on June 13. Regional level events will be held in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, D.C. Metro, New Jersey, New York and Boston. All events will be free to attend and open to the public.“For the past seven years, the Bee has consistently provided a firm platform for the community to come together and hone their craft. It’s become a family activity that contributes towards the overall development of the child. We are proud to enter our eighth consecutive year and look forward to engaging some of these wonderful spellers,” said Rahul Walia, founder of the South Asian Spelling Bee and CEO of Touchdown Media Inc. "MetLife is pleased to serve once again as the title sponsor of the South Asian Spelling Bee competition,” said Laurel Daring, assistant vice president, MetLife Premier Client Group. “This event allows youth from across the country to test their spelling skills in a national forum and helps them gain a better understanding of how much they can achieve through hard work and dedication. For MetLife, it also underscores our commitment to serving and giving back to the South Asian community.” This year, the Bee is powered by Kawan- the world’s most popular Roti paratha brand and as always, SONY Entertainment Television Asia is the exclusive broadcast partner for the MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee and will be airing the series across 120 countries.“Kawan is proud to return as a sponsor and we have tremendous faith in contributing towards crucial family time for the community. We look forward to getting to know the spellers and their families through this wonderful journey," said Tim Tan, Managing Director Kawan Food. “Year over year, the MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee has made for great programing that gels with our ethos of compete family entertainment. We are all about family values and encourage platforms such as these that highlight the talent of our community,” said Jaideep Janakiram, Head of North America, Sony Entertainment Television-Asia.